Marketing information services
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Partial update (not all links checked yet, but some new material added!) 27 November 2002
copyright Sheila Webber
Department of
Information Studies
Sheffield University

Marketing: Sources for marketing information and library services

This lists some printed and (mostly) web-based material relating to marketing of library and information services. n.b. There are also links (examples and "further reading") included in some of the other sections.
There is a separate page with links to sources about marketing in general

Marketing libraries and information centres

General texts and articles

  • Baker, Sharon. The responsive public library collection: how to develop and market it. Libraries Unlimited, 1993. ISBN 0-87287-911-9.
    This has a broader scope than the title might imply, and useful ideas. It covers: marketing orientation, objective-setting, service definition, costing and charging, service distribution and delivery, analysing user needs, promotion, and marketing-based selection practices.

  • Besant, Larry X. (2000) Libraries Need Relationship Marketing. Information Outlook March. Available fulltext online from FindArticles

  • Broady-Preston, J. (Ed.) (2000) Strategic marketing for library and information services. London: Library Association Publishing. ISBN 1-85604-364-9.

  • Computers in Libraries: September 1998. 18 (8) whole issue. This focuses on promoting the library, and has a couple of articles available in full text on the site e.g. Your Attention, Please! Marketing Today's Libraries and abstracts of other articles.

  • Corfield, K. (2001) Marketing in libraries in the 2000s: Why do we bother? . In: 11th National Library Technicians Conference: Proceedings. Kingston: ALIA.
    http://www.alia.org.au/groups/libtnat/conferences/2001/papers/corfield.html

  • Cronin, Blaise (ed). Marketing of library and information services: volume 2. Aslib, 1992. ISBN 0-85142-278-0.
    A collection of articles, some written from a general marketing perspective, and some concentrating on library/information services.

  • Dow Jones InfoPro Resource Center. (1999?) Marketing the information center Factiva.
    This has a few short MS Word documents with tips, notably: Finding Time and Money for Marketing ; Marketing Ideas and Techniques ; Sample Marketing Plan. http://www.factiva.com/infopro/resource.asp?node=right1

  • Elliott de Saez, Eileen. (2002) Marketing concepts for libraries and information services 2nd Edition. Facet Publishing.

  • Hart, Keith. Putting marketing ideas into action. London: Library Association, 1999. ISBN 1-85604-182-4.

  • Hobohm, H-C. (1999) König Kunde in der Bibliothek? Potsdam: Fachhochschule Potsdam, 1999.
    Includes reference list and example of a questionnaire, shaped around the SERVQUAL model. PDF file has copies of numerous overhead slides: discusses issues in services marketing and quality, explains SERVQUAL model, discusses relationship marketing etc. For German speakers, well worth downloading this PDF file.
    http://www.fh-potsdam.de/~hobohm/kunde.htm

  • Leisner, T. Should libraries engage in marketing? 61st IFLA general conference: conference proceedings: August 20-25 1995, IFLA, Istanbul. The Hague: IFLA, 1995.

  • Library Trends 43 (3), Winter 1995. Whole issue. There is a contents page.

  • McCune, Bonnie F. (2001) Building and Marketing a State's Virtual Library Marketing Library Services 15 (3). http://www.infotoday.com/mls/apr01/mccune.htm

  • Marketing library services. has some sample articles, a number of which I have linked to here..

  • Marketing treasures is an online newsletter about marketing library services, which from Winter 1999 was offered free by Chris Olson.There are also some relevant presentations and articles on the Chris Olson site.

  • Norman, O. Gene. Information marketing in libraries. In Kent, A. (ed) Encyclopedia of library and information science. Vol. 50, supplement 13. Marcel Dekker, 1992, 256-272.

  • Orava, H. Marketing is an attitude of mind.. 63rd IFLA General Conference: conference proceedings: August 31 - September 5: IFLA, Copenhagen. The Hague: IFLA, 1997.

  • Renborg, G. Marketing library services: how it all began. 63rd IFLA General Conference: conference proceeings: August 31 - September 5, IFLA, Copenhagen. The Hague: IFLA, 1997.

  • Richter, Barbro. (2000) External and internal marketing of library services, applying commercial experiences In: 8th International Conference on Medical Librarianship: Conference Proceedings: London: July 2000. London: ICML. http://www.icml.org/monday/marketing/richter.htm

  • Rowley, J. (2001) Information marketing. Ashgate. ISBN 0566082225

  • Soules, Aline. (2001) The Principles of Marketing and Relationship Management portal: Libraries and the Academy, 1 (3) (2001), 339-350.
    http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/portal_libraries_and_the_academy/v001/1.3soules.pdf

  • 3M. (2001) What's new @yourlibrary: How to Market @ your Library™ Creating Your Five-Year Campaign. St Paul: 3M
    Includes manual in pdf format to help you draw up a five year marketing plan for your library. http://www.3m.com/market/security/library/whatsnew/webcast.jhtml

  • Tucci, V.K. Information marketing for libraries. In Williams, M. (ed) Annual review of information science and technology. Vol. 23. ASIS, 1988. 59-82.

  • Webber, Sheila. Marketing of libraries and information centres. in Line, Maurice. (ed.) Librarianship and Information Work Worldwide 1999. London: Bowker-Saur, 1999. pp291-317.

  • Weingand, Darlene. (2000) Gestión de la Biblioteca Pública Actual: el Márketing, Segunda Fase. Boletin De La Asociacion Andaluza De Bibliotecarios (58) .
    Translation of chapter 8 (Marketing: Phase Two) from her book: Managing today's library: blueprint for change. Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. 1994. Previous chapters had also been translated for the Boletin.http://www.aab.es/51n58a5.htm

  • Weingand, Darlene. (1999) Marketing/planning library and information services. 2nd ed. Libraries Unlimited. ISBN: 1-56308-612-3

  • Wilson, C. and Strouse, R. (1999) Marketing tips for information professionals: a practical workbook. LEXIS-NEXIS.
    30 page publication with some workbook elements which you can download for free.
    http://www.lexisnexis.com/infopro/reference/pdf/MarketingTips.pdf (Adobe Acrobat pdf document)

  • Wood, Elizabeth. Strategic marketing for libraries. Greenwood, 1988. ISBN 0-313-24405-7.

  • Zick, Laura. (2000) Marketing the Library/Information Service: Readings Columbia, MO: Laura Zick. http://www.dochzi.com/bibs/market.html

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Marketing planning

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Market research

See the list of Market research books and examples and also the presentations on the page from the IFLA Management and marketing Section preconferences on Using market research to improve customer satisfaction. http://dis.shef.ac.uk/sheila/ifla/
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Promotion & public relations

  • Association of Research Libraries and SPARC. (2001) Media Map: Charting a Media Relations Strategy Washington: ARL & SPARC. http://www.arl.org/mediamap.pdf (Adobe Acrobat pdf document)
    This is a 20 page booklet for librarians, which you can download.

  • Black, Paul. Manipulating the media: a handbook for libraries. Consett: PPRG, 1997.

  • Bumgarner, E.A.(2000) How-to: a virtual open house. Marketing Library Services. 14 (8) December.
    http://www.infotoday.com/mls/dec00/bumgarner.htm

  • Coult, Graham. Raising the profile Managing information 6 (2) March 1999.

  • Gale Group. (2001) Marketing support and Free marketing resources for libraries. Gale Group.
    The former is a short series of leaflets which can be downloaded covering topics such as media relations guidelines, a template for a press release, and advice on using direct mail. The latter are materials like bookmarks that can be used as part of a promotional campaign.
    http://www.gale.com/free_resources/marketing/support/index.htm and http://www.gale.com/free_resources/marketing/index.htm

  • McDonald, R.H.; Sears, JoAnn and Mitchell, Cindy. (2001) Exciting Sports-Related Marketing: A Game Plan Marketing Library Services 15 (1) Jan/Feb
    Describes how a US academic library promoted its services at a football game using merchandise etc.
    http://www.infotoday.com/mls/jan01/mcdonald.htm

  • McKiernan, G. (2001) Banarama. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Library. This is a list of links to advertising banners on library websites
    http://www.public.iastate.edu/~CYBERSTACKS/Banarama.htm

  • Massísimo i Sánchez de Boado, Àngels. (2001) Exposició: Materials promocionals a les biblioteques BiD: textos universitaris de biblioteconomia i documentació (6) (In Catalan)
    This short article focuses on promotional items produced by libraries and includes some photographs.
    http://www.ub.es/biblio/bid/06mpromo.htm

  • Nelson, Walter. (2000) Using your intranet site as a communications tool. Marketing Library Services 14 (6) September
    http://www.infotoday.com/mls/sep00/nelson.htm

  • Stokes, Stephanie. Library media and PR. A US site of most interest to public and school librarians, it has resources such as articles and images.

  • Tovote, C. (2001) Customer or refined student? Reflections on the "customer " metaphor in the academic environment and the new pedagogical challenge to the libraries and librarians In: 67th IFLA Council and General Conference: August 16-25, 2001: Proceedings. The Hague: International Federation of Library Associations.
    http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla67/papers/071-126e.pdf

  • Yee, J.A. (2000) Learning the Culture and Language of the Media ERIC. (ERIC Digest; ED451858)
    http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed451858.html
    This summaries useful points about communicating with the media in the USA: aimed at people in higher education who want to publicise their institution.

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Pricing

See also my 1995 article on this site; Costing and pricing information services, published in Fee for service 2 (1) Winter 1995. pp1-7, including references at the end of the article.

  • Wormell, I. Success factors for fee-based information services. Helsinki: NORDINFO, 1996.

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Product and positioning

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Specific sectors

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Work of professional associations

  • The American Library Association's @ your library campaign.
    https://cs.ala.org/@yourlibrary/

  • Australian Library and Information Association (2001) Library and Information Week."Information matters - and so do we!". http://www.alia.org.au/alw/index.html

  • Colorado Library Marketing Council . Marketing Resources.
    Colorado Library Marketing Council . Marketing Resources. http://www.clmc.org/resources.htm

  • International Federation of Library associations and Institutions (IFLA) has a Management and Marketing section. On the section's site there is an irregular newsletter and some other resources, such as the glossary of marketing terms.
    http://www.ifla.org/VII/s34/somm.htm

  • Chartered Institute of Library and Information professionals (CILIP) (UK) Publicity and Public Relations Group. CILIP also organises events such as National Library Week, and awards annual prizes for library publicity campaigns. http://www.cilip.org.uk/groups/pprg/index.html

  • Medical Libraries Association (USA). MLA's Librarian Survival Kit: Hints includes tips on marketing the medical library.

  • Nebraska Library Commission. Market the library. Lincoln, NE: NLC, 1999. A mini-course with useful summaries of key points to do with library marketing.
    http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/libdev/mini-courses/outreach/sell.html

  • Special Libraries Association (USA) they have organised events such as Special Librarian's day and publish some material to support marketing efforts. Some things are only accessible to members.

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Friends groups

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Specific countries, outside North America and the UK

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Contents | The Marketing cycle | Definitions | Some marketing jargon | The Marketing cycle | Mission | Market research | Reviewing your position | The marketing mix | Services marketing | List of links about marketing in general
Send an email to Sheila Webber at s.webber@sheffield.ac.uk

Sheila Webber.